Camp Outreach 2022

We were unable to secure the dormitory housing for Camp Outreach in 2022. We know how disappointing this is - we feel disappointed as well. Every year at Camp Outreach we also had people from the community who volunteered their time, effort and energy to help rehab homes in the Near West communities. We are exploring doing a scaled down outreach with neighborhood volunteers. The need is still there - we would like to do what we can to help the fatherless, widows, single moms, seniors and those in need. 

Camp Outreach 2020 Announcement

Since 2005, Camp Outreach has brought caring people from around the country together to repair homes for elderly and families in need and to provide Biblical teaching for inner city children. We have helped hundreds of families in need, but it could be true that camp volunteers who give a week of their lives in service probably benefit most of all!

Camp is a very good thing.

With COVID19 infection rates varying from all the different states from which participants come, the fact that a number of our camp leaders are in the high at-risk groups, and with the very close quarters inherent in camp life, Common Ground Christian Ministries reluctantly announces that Camp Outreach will not be held this year.

Those who have submitted checks with their applications will have their checks returned or refunded.

2019 In Review

What a wonderful year! One of the highlights was Camp Outreach. This year we had about 90 volunteers arrive in Indiana to spend a week rehabbing homes for seniors and those in need, feeding the community and teaching children about Jesus.

We worked on twenty properties, including painting two homes, repairing sidewalks, roof repairs, neighborhood cleanup. When your roof leaks with every rainstorm, you really appreciate getting help.

Everyday we offered breakfast to the community, fed our workers and the 43 children we taught in our Vacation Bible School. That is an exciting experience - we would sing together, do crafts, and tell stories about how God helped Daniel in Babylon.

Camp Outreach in 2020 is July 12-18!

The Common Faith Network Feast of Tabernacles in Ft. Walton Beach, FL was another high point. We helped organize the children’s program (Paul in Athens), the tween, and the teen programs. About 200 of those attending the  festival at under the age of 19, and we love helping our youth leaders create opportunities that are fun, exciting, and connect our young people with God our Father, Jesus and each other.

Thank you for your interest, support and prayers.

All the best,

Guy and Jennifer Swenson

Camp Outreach 2019 - July 7-13!

Camp Outreach registration is now open. Join us for a week of feeding the hungry, teaching children about Jesus and the Christian Faith, and rehabbing homes for seniors, single moms and others in a poor neighborhood of Indianapolis. 

Register now for Camp Outreach 2019 by clicking: 

http://www.ntevangelism.org/NTEAssets/CampOutreachApplication_2019.pdf

Fill one out for each person coming. If you need financial help, let us know. We have some scholarship money that has been donated.e

Tell your friends to come - it is truly a camp with a mission!

All the best,

Guy

2018 In Review

2018 was a productive year! Thank you to all of those who supported our efforts to serve the poor and our outreach to our brethren in Christ.

Common Faith Network (CFN) Quality Church Retreat
Guy and Jennifer participated in this year's quality church retreat, held in Gatlinburg, TN. Each year CFN sponsors this weekend where congregation and ministry leaders gather together and work on ways to improve our service to the church, develop new resources and build relationships. 

CFN is a group of congregations, ministries and individuals who work together to engage, equip and empower Christians for the works of ministry God has called them to do.

Camp Outreach
We had 65 volunteers this year who invested a week of their time rehabbing houses for the elderly, single parents and the poor. Breakfast was served to the community Monday through Friday. Neighborhood children (and the young children of the volunteers) joined together to experience a Vacation Bible school "Paul in Rome." Our volunteers, young and "old" gathered together each night for a worship service and Bible studies. 

We worked on 22 properties and made a huge difference for these home owners. The chance to work with neighborhood children and families was priceless.

CFN Feast of Tabernacles
We joined about 800 others in celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. Jennifer organized the youth classes - about 200 of those registered are 18 and under, so it takes a lot of leaders stepping up to host the daily youth "experiences" for our three groups ages 4-9, 10-13 and 14-18. 

For or Small children (4-9), they followed Daniel (Dr. Dusti Howell) into captivity in Babylon, where God's faithfulness helped him and his friends navigate the perils of lions, fire, and the uncertainties of life in the palace. 

Co-led by Sharon Wilson and Deanne Howell, the program provided youngsters the chance to apprentice" with Babylonian "shopkeepers" to create crafts. They also learned scriptures and explored biblical principles in small groups with their tribe leaders.  Scheduled for every non-Sabbath day, the program featured lively music directed by Celebration Leader, Kate Ambrose. (During Sunday’s service, the children presented the songs and verses they learned through the week.) To see the kids perform, click here. Immersing children in a biblical story helps them understand the relevance of scripture to their own lives and makes learning fun. 

For the Tweens (10-13), Robin Clary helped them discover some top-secret biblical lessons, that culminated in an Escape Room experience! A sponsored bowling activity gave Tweens and their families a special opportunity for group fellowship. 

Teens (14-19) are at a critical time in their lives when they need to build lasting bonds with friends who encouraged them in their faith. Kurt and Jennifer Hoyer partnered other parents to create Teen Central. Teen Central was more than a class. It's a fast-paced learning environment with time for instruction, discussion, and sharing favorite Feast photos. It's also the place to connect with other youth for group activities such as barbecues, games, fishing, and community service. The goal is to make sure all interested teens are included in wholesome experiences that form the basis for lifetime friendships.

Winter Family Weekend - Lexington 2018
This year I will be giving three seminars. One is on "The Five Big Questions" young people must answer as they become adults. Another is a presentation on the new CFN Website. Finally, I will be leading a presentation on our new CFN project - the "Family Discipling Series." In a rapidly changing world, we see a need to help parents disciple their families. Here is the video inviting participation during the Winter Family Weekend.

Thank You
For those who have donated time, resources and helped through praying for our guidance and success, we say thank you. We appreciate your help and support as we seek to do our part in the work of the Body of Jesus Christ.

2017 Is Exciting for Common Ground!

Quality Church Retreat 2017
This year is off to a fast start. In cooperation with Common Faith Network, Common Ground is supporting the annual Quality Church Retreat in the Gatlinburg, TN area this May 5-7. Leaders from congregations from the Midwest, South ,East coast and as far west as Arizona and New Mexico are attending. Together we work on projects that can benefit each other and learn together how better to serve Jesus and God our Father in our congregations.

Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread 2017
We are hosting Passover this year for our family and friends. We are combining with the Church of God, Terre Haute for the Holy Days.

Camp Outreach 2017
We have reserved Camp Camby again for Camp Outreach. Camp this year runs from July 9-15. Information and applications are available at http://ntevangelism.org/outreach.html. 

I have already started to receive requests from people in the "Stringtown" neighborhood for help with their homes. We will leaflet the neighborhood in April for projects. We will do "Joseph in Egypt" for the Vacation Bible School and we will feed the neighborhood during the week. The Lord's Pantry is looking forward to our help. Julie Malloy, their director, writes:

Dear Friends,

The volunteers and families served at Anna’s House wish to send our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all at Common Ground who continue to support our mission of helping those in need.  You have contributed in so many ways, volunteering, food, vacation bible school, Camp Outreach, Summer breakfast, and monetary contributions.  Please know that everything you have provided has been such a blessing to our families who count on Anna’s House to assist with their most basic of needs.  I invite you to visit our website www.annashousemsc.org to see all of the ways you are making a difference in the lives of many.

From the bottom of my heart I thank each of you.  May 2017 bring you nothing but peace and joy.

Julie Molloy

Director

The Lord's Pantry at Anna's House

Feast of Tabernacles 2017
We are co-sponsoring the Common Faith Network Feast of Tabernacles in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. What a wonderful time to get together with fellow believers and share this joyful time in worship, fellowship and building bonds for a lifetime. 

Common Ground will again organize the children and youth programs. Our younger children will experience "Paul in Rome - the Underground Church." Tweens and teens will have their own groups and projects. Festival information will be available and updated at www.CommonFaithNetwork.com.

Winter Family Weekend 2017
We look forward to this time in December when hundreds and hundreds of families and friends get together in Lexington, KY for sports, seminars, church services and lots and lots of fellowship. More information will be available at www.cogcincinnati.org

I hope your year is filled with faith and a growing closeness with Jesus, our Savior, and God, our Father!

All the best,

Guy Swenson

What's Happening in 2016?

Camp Outreach

It has been a busy year for Common Ground. In June we hosted another Camp Outreach that serves an inner city neighborhood in Indianapolis. This year we had more than 100 volunteers - our largest group of volunteers ever.

Volunteers participated in rehabbing and repairing houses for the elderly, single parents and the poor. We painted a house and garage, did two house siding projects, repaired a ceiling where the plaster had fallen, helped with sheet rock mudding/taping and donated a Corian countertop and double sinks and two refrigerators, repaired several leaking toilets, fixed holes in kitchen floors, repaired electrical circuits, fixed many plumbing problems, rebuilt a bathroom floor and reset the tub, did roof repairs and repaired a bathroom ceiling damaged by water leaks, repaired or replaced a number of gutters, mowed acres of grass for the Lords Pantry and more. 

We also conducted a Vacation Bible School for neighborhood kids and younger children of our volunteers. I think the peak attendance was 43. We used Group Publishing's "Hometown Nazareth" as the format for our VBS program. This includes songs, story telling, games and crafts. We fed breakfast to the children and anyone from the neighborhood who wanted it and lunch to the children in the VBS program. Our breakfast, lunch and dinner crews made every meal - and boy was the food plentiful and tasty!

This year we introduced a new ministry - "Food for Families." Our friend, Julie Molloy from the Lords Pantry selected five families (all with many children) who could really use help. Our young people went shopping and purchased food and delivered it to the families. It was touching to do such a personal, face-to-face ministry. I think we are going to continue this throughout the year.

Parents, grand parents and even great-grand parents provided leadership, food preparation and nightly talks. Some of the project crews and VBS tribe leaders were headed by young people who have been coming to Camp Outreach for years and have developed project and leadership skills.

We had volunteers from 12 states and 3 countries - with families traveling long distances from Colorado, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Canada and the Philippines.

Thought I'd share what 100+ wonderful friends spent a week doing. I have a lot of respect for every one of them and what they invested in time and treasure doing for others.

All the best,

Guy Swenson
gswenson@7words.com
317-707-5003

What is new in 2015?

The Common Faith Network Feast of Tabernacles 2015 in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. 

What a great Feast and a great group of brethren! We try to have a very "family friendly" feast site with special activities focused on connecting young people with Jesus, God our Father and each other. For the statistically minded: we had 983 registered and the Sabbaths had 768, 759 and 717 in attendance. 72 in the children's Hometown Nazareth program, 34 in the 10-13 ages and about 30 in the 14-17 teen program.

The CFN Feast of Tabernacles will be returning again to the Emerald Coast Conference Center in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida in 2016.

For more information, go to www.CommonFaithNetwork.com or https://www.facebook.com/groups/152762744780655/

For those wanting a copy of my seminar presentation on the holy day calendar, email me at gswenson@7words.com

Camp Outreach:

Our Camp Outreach this summer was a remarkable success. Almost 100 volunteers spent a week serving the "Stringtown" neighborhood of Indianapolis. We completed 25 house rehabilitation projects, fed children and residents a daily breakfast and conducted a Vacation Bible School for about 35 neighborhood children.

Each evening the volunteers got together for a "debrief" and shared experiences. Austin Kincade led a group discussion on various aspects of how our personal "worldview."

To see photos and more information about Camp Outreach, go to https://www.facebook.com/Camp-Outreach-132758703402982/timeline/

The dates for Camp Outreach 2016 are set! June 19-25, 2016

All the best,

Guy Swenson

2014 In Review

This past year was filled with changes and some wonderful events that have created new opportunities for Common Ground Christian Ministries and others.

The 2014 Common Faith Network Feast of Tabernacles

For the past several years, Common Ground has partnered with several other churches and ministries to host a Feast of Tabernacles in Florida. The Feast of Tabernacles and the 8th Day celebrations are rich in symbolism and point to the redemptive work of Jesus and the history of God's working with Israel and the Christian community of believers. Our peak attendance was 585 - a good sized group!

What struck me most about this year's feast was the quality of the music and the children's programs. While I think we have one of the better groups of gifted speakers, the music this year was the best I have ever heard. We ask the worship leaders to include in each service a variety of traditional and contemporary songs so everybody can enjoy singing. The musicians and singers were just excellent. On one of the days I was standing in the back of the auditorium and the congregational singing sounded more like a concert than just typical singing. It was that good.

The program for the youngest children was based on Moses and Israel in the Wilderness. Mark Gentry was Moses and Kate Ambrose led the singing. Jennifer Swenson and Carrie Gentry organized everything and a host of volunteers were tribe leaders and shop keepers. Along with the children's programs we had programs for tweens, teens and young adults. I think some families find the emphasis on youth at CFN helps their children become better connected with their faith, Jesus, God our Father and new friends.

Camp Outreach 2014

Jennifer's mother, Sarah Osborn, died in May, after an extended period of illness. The loss of her mom kind of knocked the stuffings out of our family. Coming right at the critical time for planning Camp Outreach, we made the hard decision to cancel it for 2014. The neighborhood missed the wonderful influence and works of service from our church families who volunteer.

The good news is Camp Outreach 2015 is set! It took a while to negotiate a workable agreement with the camp where we stay, but we finally got it done. Put June 21-27, 2015 on your calendar for Camp Outreach 2015! 

Kardias Ministries

For a number of years Common Ground has been host for Kardias Ministries. Kardias is headed by Brian and Stephanie Smith and most notably had supported efforts of Christians in India to care for widows and evangelize. This year the Smiths moved to California and two people have stepped up to share responsibility with the Smiths in ministry - Michael Deering with the Indian Ministry and John Wilson through Faith Fellowship to handle the finances and book keeping. We miss the Smiths and pray for their success and that of Michael and John as they assume responsibilities for these ministries.

On a personal note ...

I mentioned the loss of our beloved Sarah Osborn, but there was joy this year in welcoming three new grandchildren into our family. Norah, Ruby and Lydia have won special places in our hearts - and for those who are counting, that makes 10 grandchildren!

We were a little misty-eyed about the sale of our home of 19 years Plainfield, IN. We bought a foreclosed home that is 12 miles north in Brownsburg, IN, did renovations and now have a much larger gathering space for family and friends. (The Swenson clan alone is 20 people!)

May God our Father and Jesus our Savior bless you and your family in the coming year.

Guy Swenson

Common Ground Christian Ministries

317-839-3005

gswenson@7words.com

2013 in Review

We are drawing to a close on another eventful year. Let me share some of what Common Ground has been involved in this year:

Working with the poor - Camp Outreach and more

During the week of July 7-13 we hosted 75 volunteers from 10 states at our annual "Camp Outreach." These volunteers, along with neighbors in the inner city neighborhood called "Stringtown," rehabbed houses for the elderly, fed breakfast and lunch to the poor and conducted a Vacation Bible School for 85 children. 

In the evenings, different young adults or families conducted Bible Studies, workshops and evening devotionals. On the Sabbath, about 140 neighbors, parents and workers held a neighborhood service where the children sang the songs and recited their memorized Bible verses the learned that week for their parents. 

Neighborhood Outreach

We have continued our weekly church services in the Stringtown neighborhood. It never ceases to amaze us how the truths of God's way of life can change people. There is such a difference in the quality of life that sobriety, honesty and wiser choices makes.

Our ministry house also hosts the monthly meetings of the Stringtown Neighborhood Association. (Guy Swenson is the chair person.)  The neighborhood association has been very supportive of Camp Outreach and our efforts to help the poor.

We work closely with the Lord's Pantry at Anna's House and have been involved with the neighborhood association and the Westside Community Development Corporation (Guy is a board member) to facilitate the donation of a 2.4 acre parcel of land from the City of Indianapolis to the Lord's Pantry. This property will be used to expand the food pantry and community services that the Lord's Pantry sponsors. If it all works out, it will be a huge benefit to the neighborhood.

Supporting "Healthy Churches"

We worked with the Cincinnati Church of God and its pastor, Jim O'Brien in a healthy church seminar in Gatlinburg, TN. Church leaders from the Indiana to North Carolina to Georgia discussed how they could help congregations become more effective instruments in God's hands.

Celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles

Common Ground, LifeResource Ministries and the Church of God, Cincinnati have been sponsoring Common Faith Network  as a vehicle to promote cooperation among the churches and ministries of God. At the Feast of Tabernacles in Panama City Beach, FL we had a breakthrough year when we added United Christian Ministries and the Church of God, International as co-sponsors. 

The idea of promoting a festival celebration as a "church without walls" event was extremely well received. Brethren commented on how nice it was for the needs of the brethren to be united at the annual festival celebrations was finally put ahead of organizational distinctives and differences created from divisions in the past. Other festival sites are doing the same thing and we feel it is an idea whose time has come.

Helping widows and the poor in India

Through the efforts of Brian and Stephanie Smith who lead "Kardias," a ministry of Common Ground, we are supporting the work of several Christian leaders who care for outcast widows in India. More than just financial support, the Smiths are helping lay a foundation so they can be self-supporting. They have led several mission trips to India. The culture there is so different than here in the USA and outcast widows of the untouchable class are at the very bottom of society. Sharing our Christian faith in word is a beautiful thing - helping in practical ways is a practical demonstration of the difference between Christian values and pagan values.

There has been much more - but these are some highlights of our journey this year.

Sincerely,

Guy Swenson
Pastor, Common Ground Christian Ministries
gswenson@NTEvangelism.org

What's Been Happening?

We have a lot of catching up to do - read through some of what has been happening with Common Ground Christian Ministries! Scroll down a bit and you'll also see an announcement about our 2013 Festival plans.

All the best,

Guy Swenson

Our First Baptism!

In July we had our first baptism from our outreach ministry in an inner city neighborhood in Indianapolis. Marsha Colpitts was baptized during Camp Outreach. Marsha had been attending our neighborhood Bible studies on the Sabbath and Tuesday evenings for about a year and committed her life to Jesus Christ.

CAMP OUTREACH 2012:

We've had a busy summer. Camp Outreach 2012 was another success. 82 young adults, families and their children from 10 states converged on a near-west side Indianapolis neighborhood. For a week we rehabbed houses, cleared brush, fed the hungry, reconditioned a children's park and hosted a Vacation Bible School for the children of "Stringtown."

Every day we opened up the kitchen at The Lord's Pantry at Anna's House and fed neighborhood children, our Camp Outreach Team and quite a few neighborhood adults a nourishing breakfast. Then the Lord's Pantry and the Common Ground Ministry House became a place for children to learn see how Daniel learned to live a Godly life in an ungodly world.

Our evenings were a time of getting to know others and sharing with others some heart felt personal experiences reflecting the challenges of living a Godly life in THIS ungodly world. We've reserved July 7-13 for Camp Outreach 2013 - plan to join us for a different experience in Christian mission and ministry.

Feast of Tabernacles 2012:

What a wonderful experience we had sharing the Feast of Tabernacles with about 250 brethren in Destin, Florida. Most people don't know that in Zechariah 14 the prophet makes it clear that when Jesus returns as king, all nations will be expected to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. What a treat it is to follow in their footsteps and actually experience today the same Holy Days that Jesus, the apostles and the early Church observed.

Jennifer and I brought the set from the Daniel in Babylon Vacation Bible School and we had 42 young people participate every morning. Some children even came from other festival sites for this program. We were happy to share the experience with them.

Our young adults created a video drama (comedy?) about the feast and we played it on Sunday. It was a great creative production.

As a cosponsor of Common Faith Network (CFN), we worked with several other festival sites to do some joint activities. This was very well received by all the brethren.

Feast of Tabernacles 2013:

We have some great news about the CFN 2013 Feast of Tabernacles. We've found some others who want to further the idea of cooperating for the Feast of Tabernacles. I'll quote the announcement below:

2013 FEAST OF TABERNACLES COSPONSORING ANNOUNCEMENT

Common Faith Network (CFN) and the Church of God International (CGI) have agreed to cosponsor a Feast of Tabernacles site at the Boardwalk Beach Resort in Panama City Beach, Florida for 2013. Jim O'Brien, pastor of the Church of God, Cincinnati, one of CFN's festival cosponsors, said: "For years brethren have been asking for groups sponsoring festival sites to combine their efforts and make it possible for more brethren and their children to get together during the Feast." He continued: "Adding CGI to the other three organizations cosponsoring the CFN Florida feast site represents an effort to listen and respond to the requests from brethren to expand the opportunities for families, teens and young adults to have a safe place to worship God and fellowship across organizational boundary lines."

Charles Groce, representing CGI and a new cosponsor of the CFN Florida festival site added: "We believe CFN shares our desire to have a feast site emphasizing sound doctrine, practical Christian living principles and creating a great festival experience for families. We, along with the other organizers of CFN, want to do our part in promoting what is in the best interest of our Christian brethren, regardless of the church organization to which they belong."

Guy Swenson, with Common Ground Christian Ministries, a CFN cosponsor commented: "We feel it is important to help individual Christians and congregations to become more engaged, equipped and empowered to fulfill the mission and ministries to which Jesus Christ has called them. The Feast is an excellent opportunity for all of us to learn more about our calling and become more involved in fulfilling His purpose for us."

In 2012, CFN promoted a very successful movement to cosponsor activities with other Florida festival sites as a way of promoting fellowship among brethren. As another bridge building effort, CFN also invited Scott Ashley, an elder in the United Church of God and member of the UCG Council of Elders, to speak at the CFN festival site in Destin, FL.

Bill Jacobs, co-founder of LifeResource Ministries and CFN cosponsor noted: "The Boardwalk Beach Resort in Panama City Beach, FL has condominium and hotel rooms that are right next door to the conference center. You can literally walk to services and activities. Those who have used the Boardwalk Beach Resort condominiums will remember the benefits of having so many people staying in the same facility. Inviting people over is easy and you are always running into friends at the pool and on the beach."

As a special note, CFN is once again offering special discounts and savings at the Boardwalk Beach Resort and several other condominium properties for those who make their reservations through CFN.

For more information or if you would like to help, you can reach CFN at www.commonfaithnetwork.com.

Common Faith Network represents a collaborative effort between churches, congregations and ministries to engage, equip and empower Christians and congregations to fulfill the purposes for which God our Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, have called them. CFN is not an incorporated organization but rather reflects working relationships between Christians accomplishing things together for the good of others.

Cosponsors of the 2013 CFN Florida Feast site include:

• The Church of God, Cincinnati http://www.cogcincinnati.org/
• The Church of God International http://www.cgi.org/
• Common Ground Christian Ministries www.NTEvangelism.org
• LifeResource Ministries http://www.liferesource.org/

 We are on Facebook at:

Common Faith Network Feast of Tabernacles http://www.facebook.com/groups/152762744780655/?fref=ts

Announcing Camp Outreach 2012!


Reserve July 8 through 14 for Camp Outreach 2012! Last year was such a success in the Indianapolis inner city neighborhood ministry sponsored by Common Ground Christian Ministries. This year we are building on that success and expanding with some new ministry opportunities.


Camp Outreach is an opportunity to put our Christian faith into practice by the serving legitimate needs of widows, orphans, the elderly and the poor. Home repair, painting and brightening up yards with beautiful landscaping are opportunities to make connections with people who need to see the love of God in action.


Our Vacation Bible School last year with "Hometown Nazareth" was phenomenal and we touched 110 young children during the week. This year we are offering "Daniel in Babylon" where children will explore how to grow their faith in an unChristian world.


This year we are adding some training to learn some basic home repair skills and expanding our opportunities to minister to each other in the evenings.


The Camp Outreach Website will be updated in the next few weeks with application forms and other materials. The camp fee this year will be $125 per person. Obviously this doesn't cover all the food and lodging expenses - if you would like to make a donation to help defray our costs, we appreciate your support of our ministry. Donations can be sent to:

Common Ground Christian Ministries
7545 Rockville Road, Suite 200
Indianapolis, IN 46214


All the best,


Guy


Guy Swenson
Common Ground Christian Ministries
317-707-5026 Office
317-313-1544 Cell
GSwenson@NTEvangelism.org

Camp Outreach - A Success!

We just completed our 2011 Camp Outreach Indiana. 85 volunteers from 10 states converged on Indianapolis the week of July 11-16 to put authentic Christian values into practice. Our work had three main thrusts: projects that help rehab houses where there was a legitimate need for widows, the elderly, orphans, fatherless and the poor; teach Jesus Christ to children in the neighborhood and  lives and put our Christian faith into practice.

While the numbers don't begin to tell the whole story, they do reveal a little about how hard everyone worked. In the projects side we worked on 12 properties. In one house where a widow was taking care of her widowed mother, had a child with cerebral palsy and was raising three other children we:

• Replaced her kitchen cabinets, countertops, rewired two kitchen lights and painted;
• Repaired her bathtub, tiled her bathroom floor, brought in a new vanity, installed a new door and casing, painted the bathroom and reset her wobbly toilet;
• Installed four bedroom doors and two closet doors. (There were no bedroom doors before);
• Installed wainscotting to protect the sheet rock walls from damage by the wheel chairs;
• Repainted the entire interior of the house;
• Replaced all the outlets and switches and repaired electrical circuits. (We found there had been a bad short in one of the outlets that coud have caused a catastrophic fire);
• Hauled away all the debris.

There were 11 more projects sites, including repainting the interior of a woman who is raising three young boys by herself; tearing out a crumbling porch and pouring 5 yards of concrete to fix the porch, the steps and the steps to another home; repairing gutters; purchased and spread 10 tons of dirt to cover a yard where lead in the soil was causing the child to test at dangerous lead levels; helped a woman who has multiple family members living with her while they search for work to sheet rock walls plaster walls that had air blowing through them; cut down the head-high grass and weeds on an abandoned property; filled a trench that had been left in a yard; tore off and roofed part of a house where there was a severe water leak and tore out dead bushes and scraped and painted a garage for an older couple suffering from COPD.

As good as the projects were, the children's program was equally a success. We had 70-75 children each day in our vacation Bible school based on the "Hometown Nazareth" program. Last year we had 30-60 each day and the previoius year was 22-35 each day. One lady pushed a stroller and walked with her young children a mile and a half each way to make sure her kids were part of the First Outreach program.

We also fed breakfast and lunch to all the children, some of their parents and to all 85 of our workers. Bob and Brenda Howard and the kitchen crew had a busy and appreciated ministry!

The "Hometown Nazareth" program was an enormous help. The children were divided into 8 tribes - each named after one of the tribes of Israel. Stephanie Smith played the role of Mary and told a story each day about Jesus when he was a boy. The story would relate to the children and everything was Biblically sound. (Even the story of the birth of Jesus had the kings coming later - as the Bible actually teaches.) When we talked about the name of Jesus we showed the children what their names meant. That was an eye opening event for many of them. When we talked about Jesus having a home we related it to them having a home ... it was very effective.

Jeanie Hinds would lead them in singing some rousing songs. Then the "tribes" would go to the market place which was located at the Common Ground Ministry House just a block away. There some of our volunteers played the role of capenters, bread bakers, synagogue leaders, quarry men, bead makers, etc. Some were believers in Jesus, some had doubts. (Remember what was said about Jesus not performing may miracles in Nazareth because of their lack of belief? Matthew 13:57-58)

My wife, Jennifer, played "Eunice." Eunice was a busy body who didn't believe that Jesus was what Mary thought. I wasn't sure how the children would react to someone play acting that they had doubts. Jennifer must have been a good actress - one little girl came up repeatedly and tried to assure Jennifer that Jesus really was the son of God. Toward the end of the week Eunice became more convinced that Mary was right.

In the tribe "huddles" they would discuss Jesus and what some of the doubting neighbors or Nazareth shopkeepers said or those who had open minds. In defending their faith, even the younger children seemed to become more convicted of their beliefs. I am reminded of a youth congress we had years ago. I found that young perople were examining and defending their faith in school at a much earlier age than I imagined.

It was very successful. The dramatic increase in attendance attested to the popularity of the program. Of course, not every child was there every day. We are still going through our attendance lists - 120 young people were registered and we estimate that about 100 or more children attended at least one day of the vacation Bible school.

People ask, "Why do we do this?" I am sure every volunteer has their own reasons. We do it for four reasons:

1. We want to follow what Jesus taught and what Jesus did. Feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, caring for the poor, teaching the ways of life that turn us into a blessing to others and breaking the bondage and curses that come from sin are important to Jesus. Because they are important to him, they are important to us.
2. We want to follow the leading of the Spirit of God and this is what we think we should be doing.
3. We really, deeply, enjoy helping our neighbors and their children. Make no mistake - while there are many loveable neighbors, there are some that are not so loveable. But learning how to show them love in practical ways changes us. Showing them that God and Jesus are interested in their lives can help change them.
4. We want to learn how to become more effective in evangelism. Evangelism to us means connecting people to the real, authentic Jesus and our Father in heaven. If we are going to talk about the love of God, we think we should be showing the love of God. Camp Outreach has become a learning tool for us locally and for congregations across the country.

Thanks to all the volunteers and donors who helped make this year's Camp Outreach a success. With our growth, we feel that next year we plan to make changes. We've outgrown our local resources to manage everything that is being done so we are going to ask for help. With so many young people coming, we want to ask adults to do more in mentoring job skills (like how to paint properly, tape drywall, etc.), mentoring in life skills and in the faith, and jobsite management.

If you have comments or are interested in being a part of this effort, give me a call or shoot me an email.

Until later,

Guy

Guy Swenson
Common Ground Christian Ministries
gswenson@7words.com
317-707-5029

Camp Outreach Indianapolis Starts July 10 - 16!

Update: July 3rd WISH TV Interview in "Religion In The News" about Camp Outreach and Common Ground Christian Ministries: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goMH6ryOdw4

Six years ago my wife, Jennifer, overheard discussion about that year's church camp. One young person complained about not having air conditioning in their dorm. Another didn't like the games and activities - and so the conversation went.

It struck her that the "church camps" being discussed focused on a selfish experience. What would happen if we had a church camp that focused on serving others? From that perspective, Camp Outreach was born. It is a great place for young people to meet others who share a common faith in an environment of service. 

Camp Outreach focuses on four things:

1. Putting faith into practice through service to the poor, the hungry, the widows, the fatherless and the elderly. Whether it is putting a new roof on a house, painting, repairing bathrooms, yard cleanup - we help those who have a legitimate physical need. Donations to Camp Outreach pay for the materials and the labor is volunteer, so we can offer these services without cost to those whom we serve.


2. It is a family experience. In addition to the Christian "family" experience of working together with other believers, Camp Outreach is organized so individuals or an entire family can participate. One family last year year saw the grandmother sewing costumes for the children's drama, dad oversaw a work project, mom helped in the kitchen and the kids worked on service projects. Parents with small children helped out in "First Outreach" and their kids were with them through the entire camp experience.


3. We teach people about God our Father and Jesus Christ. Our "First Outreach" program is essentially a Vacation Bible School for young people ages 4 - 12. In the poor neighborhood we serve, many children don't go to a church and know little about God and His love for them.  Last year we served more than 60 children in the neighborhood and had more than 100 people from the neighborhood come to an outdoor Sabbath service on the last day of camp. We also  teach appropriate ways to share your faith with people in the neighborhood, as the opportunity arises.


4. We have fun. While working together in service to others is fun, so is talking with others over dinner, playing cards, going swimming on our activity afternoon or enjoying lively discussion about faith and our purpose. Sometimes "religion" can be divisive - serving others in loving atmosphere is enjoyable, uniting and creates great relationships and memories.

Applications for Camp Outreach and the 2011 Indianapolis Camp Outreach Brochure are available at www.NTEvangelism.org under "Camp Outreach." The application deadline is June 15, 2011. Can't come, but would like to donate? See the "Donate" tab to the left. We appreciate your prayers and your support?


Hope to see you there!


Guy


Guy Swenson
gswenson@NTEvangelism.org
317-707-5026

Ministry News and a New Feast of Tabernacles Site!

This Sabbath, March 19, at the Common Ground Ministry House, 331 Lynn Street, Indianapolis, there will be a breakfast and Bible Study at 8:30 AM.

Afterwards, Jennifer and I will travel to Terre Haute, where I will give the sermon at 2:30 PM at the Church of God, Terre Haute, 14th and Poplar.

We are so grateful to all of you for your love and support during the recent illness and death of Jennifer's brother, Jeff. It meant so much!

We also thought you might appreciate a little update about Common Ground Ministries and our activities, of late.

First Outreach for March was a big success, with 32 local children (plus a few of our own) participating. The children loved learning to “walk by faith” in the “A-mazing Faith” maze. Thanks to Brian Smith for teaching the lesson in Stephanie’s absence.

Creating Jobs: Activities in the neighborhood are putting us in touch with neighbors daily. Steve Durham has been hired by my company and is leading a daily work crew, making sure the men living in the Ministry House, as well as a few others, have work, training in values and work ethic. One member of his crew has just landed a full-time job, so the program is really working!

Discipling: Each Sabbath, neighbors have been gathering for a Bible Study. This week we began a regular Monday night Bible Study. Tuesdays Jennifer and I teach English as a Second Language, and at least one Tuesday night a month is a neighborhood association meeting. Thursday nights, Steve and I conduct a Bible-based recovery group for neighbors. These studies all emphasize basic truths that are really making a difference for those who are attending.

Camp Outreach: We’re also beginning to plan for Camp Outreach 2011. The First Outreach program this year will give the children a taste of what life was like during the time of Christ. We’re using a Vacation Bible School program called “Hometown Nazareth.” Working with the neighborhood children was a huge success last year.

New Feast Site: On another note, we’re excited to announce the Common Faith Network Feast of Tabernacles in Sandestin, Florida. Plans are for a doctrinally unified, family friendly, fellowship oriented, and spiritually rejuvenating festival environment for the Church of God. Learn more about it at the website:

http://www.commonfaithnetwork.com/

Common Faith Network is just that - a network of ministries, churches and individual Christians who share our common Christian faith and want to work together where pooling our efforts and resources makes good sense.

Our love to you all,

Guy and Jennifer Swenson
gswenson@NTEvangelism.org
317-707-5029

Blessings or Cursings?

I am surprised at how many people do not understand the principle of cause and affect as it relates to what happens to them in their lives.

For them, really bad things happened all the time in their lives and they have no idea why. Bad things like angry blowups with a spouse, being fired from jobs, problems with neighbors, bills piling up, sicknesses and constant drama with their children seem to come out of the blue and sucker punch their happiness and drain them of joy.

Without understanding the impact of cause and effect, one might conclude that everything bad in life just happens randomly or that God is mad at you and was actively cursing your life. That feeling of helplessness or being a victim robs us of hope and the belief that we can do something that will make our lives better. Our hope for change is reduced to dumb luck - and how often does anyone win the lottery?

I wonder how much of this "cause and effect" deficiency stems from the common idea saying some behaviors are "right" and other behaviors are "wrong" means we are improperly judging the behavior of others. In a world of political correctness, one has to say "This is what works for me." One cannot say "This is what YOU should do." 

In our neighborhood Bible Study last Sabbath we explored the idea that not everything that happens to us is the result of random time and chance. We covered four key concepts that turn us from victims in life without any control over our current and future circumstances into active participants in life whose actions can make a difference - and bring hope for positive changes in our lives.

First, we discussed the concept that some decisions we make bring curses to our neighbors and ourselves. For example, stealing someones stuff creates anger, distrust, frustration, fear and discouragement. When one doesn't have extra money to replace something essential that was stolen, hope is lost.

The actions of a thief make him a curse to others. The thief also suffers from a curse - with guilt, self-loathing, fear and anxiety at being caught or betrayed.

Second, we discussed the idea that God has given "short cuts"  in the Bible to understand what makes us either a curse or a blessing to ourselves and our neighbors. Without this special revealed knowledge we are reduced to experimentation to discern what decisions work well and what work badly. Unfortunately, it is often hard to discern what decision is a good decision because a good choice can be smothered by curses brought by bad choices.

Without God's "shortcuts" to understanding, how can anyone know for certain what life choices work and which ones don't? Rather than stumbling on something that works, God wants us to be fully aware of how we can be a blessing to others. He also wants us to know what makes us a curse to our family, our neighbor and our community.

Third, we talked about what defines "cursed" life choices and what defines "blessed" life choices. Curses come from us sinning. But what is sin? Rather than some nebulous definition of "sin" like "something that hurts others" we explored the three definitions of sin in the New Testament:

1. Knowing to do good but not acting on it: James 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

2. Acting against our conscience: Romans 14:23 "And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."

3. Breaking God's Laws: 1 John 3:4 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

It is good that we can understand what actions make us a blessing to others (obedience to God and Jesus and doing what they say) and what actions make us a curse to ourselves and others (disobeying God, violating our conscience and not loving our neighbor.) With that understanding comes insight into why many curses come into our lives and how we can become a blessing to others.

Finally, we talked about one of the roles that Jesus plays in our lives - that of removing the curses that come from our disobedience. In Galatians 3:13 the apostle Paul says of Jesus: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” Our willingness to believe and repent of our sins and rebellion opens the door for Jesus to die and absorb the curse in our stead.

Jesus has taken the role of redeemer in the lives of those who enter into a new covenant with Him. We who were slaves to all manner of sin can be freed from the curse of our disobedience and fashioned into a new person by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Those in whom the Holy Spirit of God lives and who exercise their faith through obedience become a blessing to others just as Jesus is a blessing to us. This new outlook on life is different from a self-centered, selfish and greedy way of living.

Rather than seeking to be blessed as our goal, we seek to become a blessing to others as we have opportunity, ability and understanding. A community of believers who focus on being a blessing to each other and their neighbors, who look out for each other and "have each other's back" is something of great worth and value. One of our goals in Common Ground is to foster the creation of many of those communities.

Our community of believers has a breakfast Bible Study at our Ministry House on Sabbath, January 22 at 8:30 AM. The address is 331 Lynn Street, Indianapolis, IN 46222. You are welcome to attend! Dress is casual and breakfast will be served.

Guy

Guy Swenson
317-707-5029
gswenson@NTEvangelism.org

First Neighborhood Bible Study Results

So we had 11 people come for our first neighborhood Bible Study on Sabbath. Two people who had never attended from the neighborhood came as well as three who visited from other congregations for the first time. We covered the parable of the "prodigal son" - with an emphasis on both sons. (Luke 15) We used some concepts from the book, "The Prodigal God."

We explored how the sensually oriented younger son wanted control over his own destiny, even at the expense of others. After hitting rock bottom, he was also convinced the father could not accept him back. It was like he didn't think his father could forgive him for all the bad tings he had done with his life. He grossly misjudged his father's reaction - like some of us who think God could never forgive us either.

On the other hand, the morally compliant elder brother was cold, judgmental of his little brother and thought the father even owed him something for his years of service. Funny how he saw his life as "slaving" for his father (NIV - vs 29.)

He didn't see what was missing and his idea that his righteousness was established by being rigidly controlled by a sense of obligation. That attitude robbed him of his father's loving heart. He could not accept the father's judgment either - but from a very different perspective.

One can only imagine the arguing that must have gone on between those two boys when they were growing up. In the story, it was obvious that the elder brother still resented his "sinner" sibling.

It was also as though the younger son expected is father to treat him like the older brother wanted him treated. One wonders if the morally compliant elder brother expected the younger brother to "earn" his way back into the family.

In the first two verses of Luke 15 you see who the audience was: The sensually-oriented tax collectors and "sinners" and the morally "compliant" religious leaders (the Pharisees and teachers of the law.) In a real sense, both brothers had lost their way, though by very different means. Both needed to repent before they could go in and join the celebration.

Interesting how those polar opposite attitudes are still around today - churches, families, political parties - pretty much everywhere. It isn't so much an issue of "balance" between the two extremes. Rather, there is a "wholeness" that integrates both being "real" with God and accepting the moral obligations that come with forming a Christian covenant with God the Father through Jesus Christ.

God knows how bad we can be - and still loves us. He knows how easy it is to judge others and exalt ourselves - and still loves us too.

God understands how easy it is to become extreme - and wants us to be whole, complete and fulfilled as His sons and daughters. Both brothers needed to see a different side of their lives that was hidden to them by the sins of sensuality or self-righteousness. The better we understand and embrace the fundamentals of our relationship with God, the more mature, sound-minded and filled with a sense of purpose we become.

Until next time,


Guy Swenson
gswenson@NTEvangelism.org

Camp Outreach a Success!

Twice as many volunteers as last year helped Camp Outreach - Indianapolis reach out to people in the Stringtown neighborhood. "Stringtown" is the first neighborhood west of downtown Indianapolis. The 1,200 households include a large number of young families and senior citizens who are wrestling with the impact of a very high unemployment rate, the pervasive use of drugs and a struggle to overcome years of neglect.

This year we painted homes, rehabbed two bathrooms, (one in an orphanage), rebuilt a porch, edged & cleaned out gutters, landscaped, repaired the foundation of a home, replaced screens and window glass and did flooring projects. We partnered with the Stringtown Neighborhood Association to collect junk that had been thrown into alleys and streets. The City of Indianapolis came and collected a huge amount of debris.

On Friday there was a event that caused concern - one of our young men was walking from a job site back to Ana's House (the local food pantry that has supported our efforts) and came upon two men beating and kicking a woman. He ran up to them yelling. As the attackers were backing into their car to get away, one of them leveled a gun at him. Our young man backed off as other neighbors came running out of their homes, one swinging a golf club. The attackers fled in their car. An ambulance and police came and attended to the woman.

We are both proud of this young man stepping up to defend a woman in need and sobered by the fact that evil is so rampant and with ministry, there can be some level of risk. I am reminded when Jesus talked of "the Good Samaritan" to describe what it means to love your neighbor in Luke 10, it was in the context of a robbery and a beating.

We also hosted a week long neighborhood vacation Bible school for kids - as many as 57 children came on a single day. That's twice what we had last year. We fed them (and other neighbors) breakfast and lunch. We had a Bible story, crafts, activities and they learned a song and a play about the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000.

On Sabbath, we had a neighborhood celebration. More than 150 people - over a hundred from the neighborhood - came out in the heat and humidity for "church" outside. Common Ground's music team played worhship songs, we had special music, the children performed their play (with costumes!), sang their song and I gave a short message on being a "Covenant Christian."

Afterward we served hot dogs, nacho cheese, beans and drinks while the kids played games outside. It was a fun day celebrating the community-wide effort.

We have more than "adopted" the Stringtown neighborhood. We are a part of the community. Over the past 9 months we have been hired unemployed men from the neighborhood to rehab an old home in Stringtown to become a Common Ground Ministry House. It will serve as a meeting place and will host several men at a time who are looking to reboot their lives through honest labor in a drug and alcohol free and Christian environment.

Camp Outreach is about connecting people with the basics of ministry that we as Christians are taught do. Once again this year we saw the healing of the heart that takes place when Christians go out of their way to care for the sick, the hungry, the poor and those imprisoned and oppressed by sin.

Enjoy the pictures from the link below - they only tell a fraction of the good done by Christians sharing the love of God with their neighbors

Guy

Guy Swenson
gswenson@NTEvangelism.org


Camp Outreach - Indianapolis 2010 Photos

Camp Outreach - a Mission in America

Our first “Camp Outreach” of 2010 – a “mission” in America – is about a month away. As of today, 43 young people and families from all over the country are coming together to work in “Stringtown,” a very poor neighborhood on the near-west side of Indianapolis.

This year we have an abundance of work projects for widows, the elderly, the poor, the fatherless and orphans. We’re also working with the new local neighborhood association to engage people in the neighborhood to work alongside of us. Partly as a result of our efforts last year, there has been a huge growth in the willingness of the community to help each other.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Indianapolis Camp Outreach is our ministry to neighborhood children. We’ve been holding a monthly Sabbath “Kid’s Camp” in the neighborhood and have had as many as 40 local children attend with us. During Camp Outreach we will run an expanded version this activity from 9 AM to 2:45 PM where we teach children stories from the Bible, have crafts that relate to the values from the Bible stories, activities, music and food.

Food for the kids is important: we feed breakfast and lunch to neighborhood children during the summer because many of them rely on school breakfasts and lunches during the school year but have a skimpy diet during the summer. It is hard to believe that there are hungry children in America – but there are.

At the end of Camp Outreach, we are inviting the entire neighborhood for a Sabbath celebration of all the work accomplished. The neighborhood kids will perform a Bible-based play about “every day miracles,” the theme of the week. We will have worship music, some short messages and food.

For an undertaking of this size, we appreciate people and congregations to partner with us. Thank you for your prayers and support.

If you have people who want to come but have not sent in an application, go to www.CampOutreach.com and navigate to the form that is online. The deadline was June 1 – we can work some more in if we get the application right away.

If you want to sponsor someone or make a tax deductable donation, you can send it to Common Ground Christian Ministries, 7545 Rockville Road, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46214.

Please keep praying for the success of our evangelism in Indianapolis – and for the change missions make in the people who minister to their neighbors in need.

Guy Swenson
Pastor, Common Ground Christian Ministries
317-707-5026
gswenson@NTEvangelism.org

Moving Ahead

It continues to amaze me how many opportunities there are for becoming more involved in our adopted neighborhood of "Stringtown."( Stringtown is the first of the near west Indianapolis neighborhoods just west of downtown and the zoo.)

Our April outreach to neighborhood children had about 30 kids. Every time we do this we connect with more kids and become better friends with others and their families. Some of the neighborhood mothers helped this time with the crafts. As more people from the community become involved it truly represents a neighborhood effort to connect children with God and Jesus.

We added something new: music. Haun Dau and I played our guitars and sang simple children's songs with the kids. Interestingly, many of our kids had never heard some of the most simple and common of Christian songs. Now they have and when we closed our little "service" together we all sang together. I know, you never knew that I could play the guitar. Remember, I said "simple" songs!

In April my wife, Jennifer, with Stephanie Smith, Jeff Parker, Haung Dau and I finished our first series of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for this year. We made some great friends and helping our Spanish-speaking neighbors learn English has been good for everyone. Now I need to learn SSL - Spanish as a Second Language! (Seriously, I need a good Web/computer Spanish language training package - anybody know a real good one?)

We're excited about Camp Outreach this year. At the Church of God (7th Day) ministerial conference I attended last week I was able to discuss what ministries their congregations were doing. Those congregations that were growing were heavily involved in ministries to the poor. With our friends at the Lord's Pantry and the new Stringtown Neighborhood Association we have more opportunities than ever in helping a poor neighborhood. In fact, I met the pastor of one of the Spanish-speaking COG7 congregations not too far from us and their young people may join us for Camp Outreach this summer. That may help us connect with a sizable part of the neighborhood in a much better way.

The Ministry House continues to progress. The plaster walls were all covered with sheet rock - now the big task is taping and mudding them in preparation for painting. What we have left is wall preparation, painting, putting in flooring (tile in the bathrooms and kitchen, laminate in the rest of the house), tiling one shower, kitchen cabinets, downstairs HVAC, the front porch, siding and landscaping. Sounds like a lot - and it is, but boy has there been a lot already done. It truly will be a great place for services, small group studies, education and helping a few neighborhood people at a time "reboot" their lives and get a fresh start.

Thanks to everyone who has been helping. If you'd like to get involved in our ministry or learn how to start an inner city ministry, join us for our "Camp Outreach." Some people can't get the whole week of July 11-17 off, so they are coming for a couple of days during the week or close to the weekend.

For years I was taught to focus on the intellectual side of our Christian faith. I can tell you that adding the practical, physical "loving your neighbor" aspect of a hands-on ministry has given new life to my beliefs, greater depth to my faith and excitement to my life. I'm not saying this as an advocate of being selfish here. Rather, I want to give credit to God for opening my eyes to see another side of His will. It never ceases to amaze me how much better my life and the lives of those around me are when I am more obedient to God.

If you are involved in a healthy ministry you already know what I mean. If you aren't, "dip your toe in the water" and see what God has in store for you. If we can help, give me a call or drop me a line.

Sincerely,

Guy

Guy Swenson
Pastor, Common Ground Christian Ministries
317-707-5026
gswenson@NTEvangelism.Org